Cómo describir gráficos y tablas en inglés: vocabulario y frases esenciales

I remember the first time I had to present a sales chart in English. My brain froze. I knew the data, but the words just wouldn't come. Up? Increase? Rise? Grow? They all felt wrong. That's when I learned a simple truth: describing graphs isn't about knowing every synonym — it's about knowing which word fits the direction, the speed, and the structure of your sentence.

This guide gives you the exact vocabulary and phrases you need, without the fluff.

Vocabulary for Trends: Up, Down, Flat, and Fluctuating

When you look at a line or bar, you first ask: is it moving up, down, staying still, or bouncing around? Get these four groups right, and you're 80% there.

• Upward movement: rise, increase, grow, go up, climb, surge, skyrocket
• Downward movement: fall, drop, decrease, decline, go down, dip, plummet, crash
• No movement: remain stable, stay constant, level off, plateau, flatline
• Unstable movement: fluctuate, oscillate, vary, swing

But here's the catch — how fast is it moving? That changes your word choice.

Sales skyrocketed in Q2 (fast and dramatic) vs. Sales gradually increased over the year (slow and steady)
The price plummeted after the news (sudden crash) vs. The price dipped slightly in July (small, temporary drop)

Pair a movement verb with an adverb to show speed and size. This little trick makes your description sound natural and precise.

Here's a quick visual to help you match direction to vocabulary:

Language for Comparing Data

Once you've described the direction, you usually need to compare. Watch out — this is where non-native speakers often confuse prepositions and sentence structures.

Comparing quantities

• Higher: more than, greater than, exceeds, surpasses
• Lower: less than, lower than, fewer than, falls short of
• Equal: the same as, similar to, matches, equals

Sentence patterns to steal:

• "The number of users in 2024 was twice as high as in 2022."
• "Sales surpassed the previous record by 15%."
• "Profit fell short of our target by €50,000."
• "The two figures are roughly identical."

Notice how the structure changes depending on whether you use a verb or an adjective. "Exceeds" works like a normal verb. "Greater than" needs a be‑verb before it. Small difference, big impact.

Here's a pattern cheat sheet:

A Quick Phrase Bank for Describing Graphs

Sometimes you just need a ready-made sentence. Here are a few I've collected from real reports and IELTS band 9 essays:

• "The graph illustrates changes in revenue over a 12-month period."
• "There was a sharp increase in website traffic between May and July."
• "The figures fluctuated wildly before stabilizing in December."
• "After reaching a peak of 90%, the rate began to decline."
• "The line bottomed out at just 5% in early 2024."
• "Overall, the data shows a steady upward trend."

One more thing: don't forget the prepositions. "Increase of" (the change itself) vs. "increase to" (the new number). "Drop by 10%" vs. "drop to 50%." Mix those up and your sentence becomes confusing.

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Ready to test your skills? Describe a chart from memory right now — a simple line graph from your phone's battery stats or a weather app. If you can say "The temperature rose sharply at noon and plateaued in the evening," you're already using graph vocabulary like a pro.

And if you want to check how your English really measures up, take our free test at English Measure. We cover Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking — all in under 30 minutes.

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